Skydiving in the US is about 7 micromorts per jump. Which in turn is about the same as 1600 miles in a car.

Which I guess means, it depends on how far from the dropzone you live

[edit to add: the average per day in the UK (I know, not the US) is about 39-41, depending on how you count. So a day of jumping doubles your risk (compared to a non jumper, all other factors being equal) of sudden death when it reaches five or six jumps. Interesting eh?]

Cycling, running, and swimming are all more dangerous than skydiving, but are less dangerous than being in an automobile, according to the data.

I approximately agree with the stats on skydiving. Making 100 jumps a year gives you a 1 in 1000 chance of dying, a figure I agree with. The other day I saw that the average American has a 1 in 6000+ chance of dying in a car wreck per year. I don't know why the 6 fold difference between the two studies.

Although living in the PNW and working 4-5 days a week and having a family, I'm happy if I get 200 jumps a year. After I retire I hope to do a steady 400+ a year though.

Hi John

The stats are what they are. But they often don't tell the whole story.

I'm guessing that the car insurance premiums for your packing machine ( son) is a lot higher than for your daughters. I don't remember why but for some reason males under the age of 25 pay high insurance premiums.

I'm guessing that the car insurance premiums for your packing machine ( son) is a lot higher than for your daughters. I don't remember why but for some reason males under the age of 25 pay high insurance premiums.

Because young males are the most dangerous drivers. They are all testosterone and little judgement. Same reason they drill into the dirt doing swoops.

Of course shit still happens, but at least we can minimize the risk by choosing when we drive and have lots of underinsured motorist coverage.

Underinsured motorist coverage has helped me out before, I'm afraid. Yes, you can minimize your risk by staying home at night and in bad weather.

I just don't agree with anyone who says the drive to the DZ is more dangerous than the skydive. The stats quoted here and my own personal experience tell a much different story. I feel that line is often touted by people trying to calm their own fears.

I'm not too worried about the main opening. It has every time so far, and I've rushed through some seriously sloppy packjobs.

And there's a reserve too. While it can fail, the numbers show that they open very reliably.

Understanding your gear, how it's put together and how it works will help a lot with the fear of the main not opening. But there's a lot of other things to be afraid of too.

The fear will abate after a while, but it never goes completely away, at least not for me. I've had very experienced jumpers tell me that they still get nervous on the plane. And they say that if they ever reach the point where they aren't, then it will be time for them to hang it up, because they are starting to ignore the very real risks. And that's dangerous.

There's this DUCK that has been through AFF (and a lot more). She does a very good job of articulating the feelings and fears that go through most student's minds during the progression. That might help.

I always get a bit vexed by these discussions about relative fatality risk. Even if one is orders of magnitude higher than the other, the risks of you being killed in a car wreck and being killed skydiving are both very small.

I think what you've been experiencing is more of a gut reaction to putting yourself in a very unnatural situation - and the longer and more often you do it, the more natural and less frightening it becomes.

You were asking specifically about the fear of your canopy not opening - I find that varies a lot depending on recent experience. Under normal circumstances I don't give it much thought, but if I've had an uncomfortable or scary opening lately then it's very much at the forefront of my mind when I dump!

Body position is at least as much of a factor as packing technique, by the way - line twists, for example, are often caused by people not having their shoulders level during deployment.

I think what you've been experiencing is more of a gut reaction to putting yourself in a very unnatural situation - and the longer and more often you do it, the more natural and less frightening it becomes.

Years ago I was involved in testing done by a well known government agency. They wired us for sound, heart rate, respirations, pupil dilation and a bunch of other shit. What they determined was that experienced jumpers shows the greatest signs of stress at pull time. The next down the list was at take off.

I told them their data was all fucked up….I started getting scared when I drove onto the DZ and stayed that way until the beer light came on.

You should be worried more about being in a motor vehicle, and not knowing if the brakes will slow you down.

Your parachute is made to open, and if it doesnt, that is why we have a reserve chure.

You are likely to get grey hairs all over your head from worrying about what amounts to a simple waste of time.

If you don't break the tether that keeps you bound to earth, you will never really know in your heart just what a great thrill and a safe thrill, you are rejecting for a folish though that your chute isnt going to open.

Go for it, and don't back down. You'll never regret taking that stand.